Iltirtar

That could open the path to a new of era of enlightenment in visual art. Who will have the need for a Vermeer when the AI-powered creativity of the IKEA/Canva tandem is at their fingertips?

I am sorry to say it, but I think there is some sort of disconnection from reality regarding this topic. Linux is not an alternative to Windows or macOS for most people. Sure, somebody will say that they installed Linux on their machine and everything worked perfectly from day one. But fact is that, depending on what hardware you have, that will not be the case, and then you will have to spend several hours searching for solutions on the internet, and probably working on the terminal. The average user doesn't want to deal with that — and in many cases does not have the knowledge to do so. Then, opensource is great, no doubt. I myself prefer opensource whenever I have the choice. And if your needs are covered by opensource software, Linux might be a great choice for you. But if opensource software does not cover your needs, then, Linux is not a good option for you, and that's it. Yes, you can dual boot, and, of course, if you have enough technical knowledge you will find workarounds to whatever. But again, that is not a proper scenario for the majority of desktop users. And regarding proprietary software, let's be realistic: most of it will not support Linux anytime soon and, when it does —if ever— we will all be old (if we are still young today) or dead (if we are not so young today). Regarding professionals, Affinity, Adobe and so on... Again, reality talks a different language. Adobe might be as creepy as we want as a company, but truth is that Adobe is what most professionals use, for a reason. Could it be that they wanted to leave Adobe and, if the alternative existed, they would move to something else? Sure. Will this alternative be Affinity? No. Affinity is not moving in that direction, sorry for the disappointment. I think those who want an Adobe alternative in Linux would make better use of their energy if they tried to promote an opensource project. Affinity will not fulfill that need. There are some opensource projects already: Inkscape, Krita, Gimp. They fall short of Adobe, yes — but so does Affinity. And then: what has better chances to evolve within Linux? opensource projects like the ones mentioned, or a private company that has already stated — numerous times — that does not care about Linux?

Here's the thing: a blend tool is not essential for basic tasks — likely the kind most Affinity users are doing. In fact, I suspect many of Affinity users do not even know what a blend tool is. And it is clear that Serif is not focusing in providing professionals the tools they need, but rather in providing non-professionals with the illusion of using a professional tool. And this most likely explains why there is no blend tool in Affinity. Will there ever be a blend tool? Let's see if somebody from the Affinity team replies... But beware: if they do implement it, and follow their usual approach, it will probably be buggy and/or incomplete.

Anyway, has anybody tried this PhotoSir thing? I haven't, and I won't. Might be cultural barrier, but the marketing in their website doesn't look very appealing for professionals, in my opinion.

Yes. That is true if they have interest in the Linux market outside of China. But, although it might seem strange, there is a chance that they don't have interest in that market. What seems logical to us is not always what's logical from the marketing perspective — especially in China. PS. But maybe they will release an English version for Linux soon. I have no idea.

That makes sense from the outside. But maybe precisely because there is no competitors on Linux, it's not their interest to have a Linux version in English.

Yes, of course. What I meant is that they don't want or need to know how many users are interested in a Linux version. Since Serif have no interest in Linux, a poll is unnecessary, and from Serif's perspective, it's even counterproductive, because they are not going to do a Linux version no matter what the poll results are anyway. The key point to realize here, is that, nowadays, the reason why Affinity is not available on Linux has not much to do with how many Linux users want it. Businesses are not democracies.

My bets are they already know what OS Affinity customers use, and they don't care much about how many users would use Affinity on Linux because they have other priorities. It is understandable that home users and independent professionals like to think they can be a force that pushes Linux forward in this regard. However, they are not. Polls don't matter. Big enterprises/studios matter. That's why some commercial software is available on Linux, because big companies/studios have invested on it, and not because many home users wanted it. If big studios demanded a Linux version of Affinity, Serif might consider it. But if big studios wanted a Linux version of their graphic design and publishing tools, my bet is they would deal first with Adobe or other bigger brands, since this is what they already use. So... again, chances for Affinity on Linux, in the real world, are very slim. There might be another path if the goal is to attract commercial software to Linux: Linux becoming unified, instead of being hundreds, if not thousands, of small groups. But then, I guess Linux wouldn't be Linux anymore, right? And who knows what would happen then. To summarize: truth is that businesses want predictability and consistency, and relying on «community» and «collaboration» of several hundreds of small groups doesn't instill confidence to businesses. Linus Torvalds himself has admitted that fragmentation is the main reason Linux hasn't taken over the desktop market — and I bet he knows a thing or two about Linux...

@AC001 What kind of work do you do with Affinity?

Everybody's experience is different. At the end, it all depends on the combination of software and hardware (and user). I am not using Linux nowadays, but I have used it in the past, with no major issues. Currently I have Windows 10 on my getting-too-old laptop and Windows 11 on my desktop, and have no issues with them — they both run smooth and stable. Regarding your issues with Windows, Affinity and printer drivers: have you assessed what the source of the problems is? Windows may fail sometimes, but not everything happening in Windows is caused by Windows itself; issues might arise from hardware compatibility issues, bad drivers by the hardware manufacturer, applications' bugs (Affinity is known not to be exactly bug-free), user error... As I say, my experience with Windows 10 and 11 is that they are pretty much stable. My point is that if you are experiencing persistent issues with Windows 10, something is off with your setup — it shouldn't happen. And if you are happy with Linux Mint but still need Windows for some tasks, your best bet is to try to figure out what causes the issues in Windows, in order to solve them, and keep a workflow combining Linux and Windows that suits you. As for the "spy nonsense" ...yes, true; it is a major trend not only in Windows but in most products now, and it has been somehow normalized. I had to do some research on how to install Windows 11 on my new desktop without linking my computer account to a Microsoft account... I wonder if it will even possible in the next Windows. Sad and irritating, yes.

I understand that this is natural and unavoidable, but it seems to me that wanting Affinity to replicate Adobe is a mistake at its core. From Serif's perspective, it wouldn't be wise to reproduce what others have already done — they need to have their own ideas; wanting to be another version of something that already exists is a mistake and shows lack of character. From the customer side, asking Affinity to do what Adobe does can come across as actually wanting to use Adobe, just at a lower cost. Affinity is behind Adobe in many ways, and with this mindset lingering, it will always be.

Yes, or at least it is what Canva said in 2024, I believe. This is the part of Canva's behaviour that I don't get. They presented it as a big deal in 2024, but now in 2025 there's no mention of it. I understand that Canva may have long-term goals with Affinity; but still, you would think that if the move was really that important, they would do something to keep people engaged somehow. This silence on both sides is weird — as far as I know, there is not even a single mention of Affinity in Canva's website, besides the news piece they published in 2024.

When I think about Canva and Affinity, I don't understand very well what's the deal. From my perspective, most Canva users aren't particularly interested in Affinity, and vice versa. Also, I don't see how the two products can integrate very well. So it actually makes sense that Affinity is not mentioned at all at the Canva event, at this point. But then, why did they include it in the Canva Create 2024? I am no expert in bussiness strategy or marketing, but to me, mentioning Affinity in 2024 and "ghosting" it in 2025 feels, at best, like a misstep.

That might be true — and I'd say, very likely. But if that's the problem, it means that Affinity's development management is a real mess. Programmers don't need to be the ones deciding how things work, nor the ones checking that things work properly, nor even the ones using the software they produce. They are busy doing what they do best: programming. Deciding how things have to work is the job of other people — for example, an UX designer. And checking for bugs before the beta stage — and let me emphasize: before the beta stage — is the responsibility of a quality control team (who dont need to be programmers either). Now, what follows is speculation on my behalf, but seeing how things have been going lately, I get the feeling that there is neither a UX designer nor a quality control team. And I would add that whoever is in charge of communication seems to be on vacation, too. PS: Affinity being absent from the Canva event is suspicious. We don't know what it means, but it’s definitely suspicious.

I see. I am sorry that comments as mine seem discouraging. But their purpose is not to discourage anybody, but only to provide an explanation of what the situation is. I don't think these comments are counterproductive, for the same reason "encouraging" comments are not productive: because Affinity being ported to Linux doesn't depend at all on what users say here. What we say here serves us to have a conversation, nothing else. The basis on which Serif will make their decisions depend altogether on other factors — those I already mentioned before. Of course, it's all speculation since Serif has said they won't do it, but not why. But facts are there, and reasons can be inferred from those facts.